Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 63

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED...
Getting My Mojo Back
We want to share a fabulous question that was posted
this month by Melissa in the forums of the Coach Parry
Training App.
Q: “I’ve run for many years and
completed lots of races, but I
can’t seem to get my mojo
back. I’ve been burnt out
for four months, but don’t
want to give up my
running life. Any tips?”
A: There is no quick
solution to your
problem, because you
have reached the point
of burn-out. I will give
you some tips to try to
break out of your cycle
of low motivation, but
what will be much more
important is to prevent a
recurrence of burn-out in the
future.
In the short term, you need a reason to
get your shoes on, and you need to choose something
challenging, so that it is not so easy for you to get away with not training, but
not so hard that you dread running. Make sure it is something you haven’t done
before, like perhaps a surf marathon (on the beach), off-road trail race or stage
race, or perhaps another sport entirely, like duathlon or triathlon.
This will allow you to get fit with new elements that are fun and exciting to learn,
while still relying on your core strength, which is running. Also try and rope in a
friend, or someone you have trained with well in the past, as this will help you to
look forward to the banter and take the focus away from training.
Importantly, though, make sure the goal is far
enough into the future so you can build
up slowly and start to enjoy being fit
without the struggle of having to
do lots of training straight away.
Take regular rest breaks, two to
three days per week initially,
and then two per week once
you are well into it. Take
one weekend a month
off, and after you have
achieved your goal, take
at least a week off to relax
before planning your next
project.
By varying your events
and ensuring you include
recovery breaks, you will
keep a fresh spin on your
running and prevent future
burn-out.
Are you still struggling
to run faster?
Transform your running in just 12 weeks
by training smarter with Coach Parry...
Get 25% OFF
any of our 12 week training plans when
you use the coupon MAOCT at checkout
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
63